CNBC begins its 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff coverage tonight at 8 p.m. ET, when the (WC1) New York Islanders visit the (1) Florida Panthers, and shifts to the west coast at 10:30 p.m. ET, following Islanders-Panthers, when the (2) Los Angeles Kings host the (3) San Jose Sharks.

Last night’s Game 1 tripleheader on NBCSN and USA Network produced NBC Sports Group’s best-ever playoff opening night overnight rating (since 2006), while Blackhawks-Blues and Red Wings-Lightning set first-round streaming records. More information is detailed further below in the release.

“NHL Playoff Pass” on NBC Sports Group Press Box provides a quick daily overview of Stanley Cup Playoff coverage, plus information and highlights. The Pass will be published weekdays to preview that evening’s games. Friday editions will include weekend information.

Alex Ovechkin and the (1) Washington Capitals renew their rivalry with Claude Giroux and the (WC2) Philadelphia Flyers tonight on NBCSN. The Capitals earned their second Presidents’ Trophy in seven seasons with a league-leading 120 points, while Philadelphia posted a 15-5-3 record in its last 23 games to clinch the final Wild Card spot in the East. Ovechkin led the league for the fourth consecutive season with 50 goals, the seventh time he’s reached the 50-goal plateau. Since 2010-11, Giroux (443 points) and Ovechkin (437 points) have amassed the most points of any players in the NHL.

CNBC’s playoff coverage begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET, when Jaromir Jagr and the (1) Florida Panthers host John Tavares and the (WC1) New York Islanders in the first-ever postseason meeting between the two teams. Florida won their division for only the second time in team history, led by the 44-year-old Jagr, who paced the club with 66 points (27g/39a). Tavares led the Isles with 70 points this season (33g/37a), and enters the postseason on a four-game goal-scoring streak. Both clubs will look to snap long postseason series droughts; the Isles have lost eight straight playoff series, dating back to 1993, when they defeated Jagr and the two-time defending champion Penguins. The Panthers have not won a playoff series since 1996.

Minnesota will look to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the third consecutive season, after a seven-game first-round series win against Colorado in 2014, and a six-game victory against St. Louis last year. The Stars finished the season with the Western Conference’s best record for the first time since the 2002-03 season. Jamie Benn led the league in points in the 2014-15 season, and notched 89 points this year (41g/48a) to finish second. This is the first-ever playoff meeting between the Wild and the Stars, who were formerly the Minnesota North Stars before moving to Dallas in 1993.(3) SAN JOSE SHARKS AT (2) LOS ANGELES KINGS – GAME 1 AT 10:30 P.M. ET ON CNBC

The Sharks and Kings face off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth time in the last six seasons, as San Jose aims to avenge its loss to Los Angeles in 2014, when the Kings rattled off four straight wins to erase a 3-0 first-round series deficit en route to their Stanley Cup title. The Sharks are led offensively by Joe Thornton (82 pts) and Joe Pavelski (78 pts), who finished tied for fourth and tied for six place, respectively, in points in the league this season. Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick led the NHL with 68 starts in net, and set a career high with 40 wins.

**Note – all first-round games are subject to blackouts in local markets**

If tonight’s Flyers-Capitals game on NBCSN runs past 9:45 p.m. ET into the start of Wild-Stars, puck drop of Wild-Stars will be shown live on NHL Network until Flyers-Capitals has concluded. Wild-Stars will return to NBCSN immediately following the conclusion of Flyers-Capitals.

If tonight’s Islanders-Panthers game on CNBC runs past 10:30 p.m. ET into the start of Sharks-Kings, puck drop of Sharks-Kings will be shown live on NHL Network until Islanders-Panthers has concluded. Sharks-Kings will return to CNBC immediately following the conclusion of Islanders-Panthers.

As a reminder, all games on NBC, NBCSN, USA Network and CNBC will be live streamed via NBC Sports Live Extra.

Game 1 of Rangers-Penguins led the way with a 0.52 overnight rating on USA Network to rank as the best ever Game 1 overnight on USA Network or CNBC (13 games). The Red Wings-Lightning and Blackhawks-Blues Game 1 matchups on NBCSN each delivered a 0.45 overnight rating.

Last night’s Blackhawks-Blues and Red Wings-Lightning Game 1 matchups on NBC Sports Live Extra now rank as the most-streamed NHL Stanley Cup Playoff first-round games ever. Blackhawks-Blues finished with 95,000 unique visitors and 6.1 million minutes streamed across all platforms, increases of 533% and 1,861%, respectively, vs. Calgary-Vancouver in the same window last year. Red Wings-Lightning had 81,000 unique visitors and 4.3 million minutes.

Through Wednesday night, the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs has 146K unique visitors and 10.4M minutes across all Live Extra platforms, increases of +125% and +193%, respectively, compared to the opening day of the 2015 Playoffs.

NBC Sports Group NHL Live studio analysts and former NHL players Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick, as well as Executive Producer Sam Flood, previewed the upcoming 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs on a media conference call on Tuesday afternoon. Click here for the full transcript.

Following are excerpts from their playoff preview conference call leading into tonight’s games:

Milbury on the Capitals: “The great thing for Ovechkin this time around is he’s got a posse… a good goaltender, a depth of defensemen, a premium defenseman in John Carlson…I think this guy has the experience and looks like he has the demeanor to handle the pressures of a playoff run. I think I’ll be surprised if they don’t get past the second round.”

Roenick on the Flyers: “There is no pressure right now on the Philadelphia Flyers…I don’t think there is anybody outside of Philadelphia that thinks that the Flyers will win…if they can steal one out of Washington, their belief will get stronger, they’ll get more physical, and the harder that Washington will have to play to win.”

Milbury on Isles-Panthers: “I would give the edge to the Florida Panthers. I think it’s their time, and with the Islanders not being quite 100%, I think they need to take advantage of it. I don’t think it will be easy…the Islanders have always been a tough out. And with a player of John Tavares’ caliber and physicality to the game, they’re going to make it difficult on anybody.”

Roenick on success of “Sunbelt” NHL teams in the south and west: “We have six teams in what we’d call the Sunbelt – three in California, one in Dallas and two in Florida. Having the Florida Panthers in really helps the National Hockey League with its exposure and with Jaromir Jagr back in the playoffs, which is I think is going to be really interesting to watch.”

Milbury on the Sharks: “We’ve talked about them for years. Marleau and Thornton are not getting any younger, and the window, whether it’s closed this year or it’s closed next year, it’s closing…they need to as a group put it together early against a really tough opponent.”

NBC Sports Group’s Emmy-Award winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire continues his marathon first-round broadcast schedule tonight in Sunrise, Fla., with Game 1 of the Islanders-Panthers series. McGuire is slated to serve as an analyst for 11 games in 11 days to begin the postseason, with more games likely added to that run as series continue. His schedule will be comprised of seven different cities, five different playoff series, and more than 13,000 miles in travel. *Note – schedule is subject to change*

Date

Coverage

Travel

Wed., April 13

Game 1 – (3) Chicago at (2) St. Louis

St. Louis > Sunrise, Fla.

Thurs., April 14

Game 1 – (WC1) N.Y. Islanders at (1) Florida

Sunrise, Fla. > Tampa

Fri., April 15

Game 2 – (3) Detroit at (2) Tampa Bay

Tampa > Pittsburgh

Sat., April 16

Game 2 – (3) N.Y. Rangers at (2) Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh > Chicago

Sun., April 17

Game 3 – (2) St. Louis at (3) Chicago

Chicago > Philadelphia

Mon., April 18

Game 3 – (1) Washington at (WC2) Philadelphia

Philadelphia > New York

Tue., April 19

Game 3 – (2) Pittsburgh at (3) N.Y. Rangers

New York

Wed., April 20

Game 4 – (1) Florida at (WC1) N.Y. Islanders

New York

Thurs., April 21

Game 4 – (2) Pittsburgh at (3) N.Y. Rangers

New York > Sunrise, Fla.

Fri., April 22

Game 5 – (WC1) N.Y. Islanders at (1) Florida*

Sunrise, Fla. > Chicago

Sat., April 23

Game 6 – (2) St. Louis at (3) Chicago*

TBA

COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL COVERAGE

Through the NBC Sports Regional Networks, comprehensive coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be provided daily via NBC Sports Regional Networks, available in more than 43 million U.S. households. NBC Sports Regional Networks serve the hometown fans of the Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, and Washington Capitals. In-depth coverage for those teams advancing to the postseason includes exclusive regional coverage of first-round games, pre- and post-game shows, and extensive on-line coverage via CSN’s team of NHL Insiders.

For teams that advance past the first round, NBC Sports Regional Networks will deliver extensive pre- and post-game coverage as well as breaking news and analysis throughout each team’s playoff run.

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA COVERAGE

NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will stream 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff coverage via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra.